So sorry for the delay. Things are crazy, but hopefully it won't be that long again before I update again. Feel free to review, it is always so appreciated! A big thanks to Leonhart17, who helped out with this chapter when I was stuck with writer's block...thanks, my friend, you're awesome!

Also a special thank you for Speechless, whose reviews are always amazing and makes my day! Hopefully you feel better, enjoy that chapter!

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope."

"Come on, he has the perfect motive, his alibi is complete crap and yet you can't even arrest him?"

Esposito glared at Castle. He was as annoyed as the writer about the case's latest development but at least he didn't whine about it. "His sponsor confirms having seen him around the time of death so there's nothing more we can do for now."

Castle sighed, his frustration eventually echoed by the two male detectives. "Something doesn't add up." He mumbled tersely, his eyes glued to the murder board and at the picture of the victim. "What about the kid, any new development there?"

The girl's photograph was creeping him out. As much as he tried not to look at her, his brain seems to have a mind of its own and kept going back at the teenager, stricken by her resemblance to Beckett. He still hadn't mentioned it to anyone because he didn't want to be stared at as if he was crazy, but it was still bothering him.

Esposito noticed the writer's fixation on the girl's picture. "Yeah, we convicted him with obstruction of justice, assault on a police officer and every single bit of crap we could find. He's going to have to go to court next week to get his sentence. What is it with you and this picture, bro?"

"Nothing." Castle quickly looked away, his eyes gazing over Beckett's desk before meeting the Latino detective's. "Wait, if he has to go to court, does this mean that Beckett's going to have and testify against him?"

"That is exactly what it means, Mr. Castle." Captain Victoria Gates joined in as she walked by and stopped by the desks. "How is she holding up?"

Castle shared a look with Esposito and Ryan before placating a smile on his face. "She's better. I'm pretty sure she's taking advantage of her time alone at the loft right now to plot ways to get back at work on Monday."

Gates studied him for a moment before her eyes shifted to the detectives, testing them. "Well, if that's the case, why don't you tell her to come by tomorrow. I want to see for myself how she's doing and if I like what I see, maybe we'll discuss her coming back early, for desk duty only."

"Is it me or did she just grow a heart?" Ryan stared at their boss's back as she retreated, all three men standing still and wearing matching stunned looks.

Esposito shook his head and went back to the board after one last glance at the Captain's office door. "Gates runs a tight ship but she's not a bad person at heart."

Ryan raised an eyebrow and smirked at his partner, fighting off a snicker. "Is there something you need to tell us, Javi?"

"What I just said? Those are Beckett's words, not mine, and she's right. And I think that Beckett likes her, you know when they're not butting heads or arguing."

"So," Castle interrupted them so they wouldn't have to drag awkward apologies to one another, "what's our next move since the father's out? Going through everybody's statements again? Bringing down the ex-girlfriend again for more questioning? Call it a night?"

Esposito stared at the writer as if he had grown a second head. A second, female head. "Dude, it's not even six."

"I know but it'd be easier to start again in the morning with fresh eyes, fresh coffee, you know."

Ryan and Esposito exchanged a knowing look. Castle has never been the most subtle one, and the way he kept glancing at both his watch and cell phone every fifteen minutes had made it obvious that he was getting restless and wanted to call their boss to check up on her. "Don't let us keep you from obsessing on Beckett, bro. You can call her if you want or, even better, you can go home if you want. You've been here for hours now."

Castle pointed stare narrowed as he sat on the desk and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. "I knew you were dragging me here on purpose. What did she tell you?"

"Nothing, Castle. She was just worried that you were going a little crazy trapped at your place, she thought it'd do you good to catch a breather for a while." Esposito told him calmly, watching as the writer glued his ear to his cell, his face showing signs of impatience when he got no answer.

"She's not picking up."

"She told you she was going to take a nap." The detective reminder him with a look, although he didn't like that the phone call had remained unanswered either. "Don't call every ten seconds, bro, it's creepy."

Castle waved him off, as his fingers danced on his phone. "I'm texting Alexis. I am not creepy, Espo."

"The way you were hovering over her at the loft? A little creepy, dude. You know she doesn't like that when we breathe down her neck."

The writer's concerned blue eyes turned to the detective, suddenly wary. A dreadful feeling slowly crept up his spine and he jumped when his phone chimed.

Esposito and Ryan mimicked Castle's frown as he read his daughter's text out loud. "Alexis left the loft about two hours ago and she says that Kate was in the bedroom, but she doesn't know what she was doing."

Castle's whole body tensed as thoughts swirled wildly through his mind, every single one of them as terrifying as the other. Thoughts of Kate being in any kind of distress tore at him and the man was on his feet in a heartbeat when the idea of coming back home only to find the place empty grazed his mind. She wouldn't do that, he thought desperately. She wouldn't, not after the moments they had shared, as small as they were. Another thought popped inside his head, one that he even refused to acknowledged. The timing of this was all too perfect: the way she had pulled back after they had started getting closer, her asking him not to call, Alexis going out, him out of the picture as well...

Castle made up his mind in a heartbeat. "You guys call if you find anything new, alright?" Grabbing his jacket and shoving his phone in his pocket, he didn't wait for an answer as he rushed his way to the elevator.

Both detectives watched him go, Ryan sparing a glance to Esposito once Castle was completely gone. "Think she did something stupid?"

"She'd better not."

His mind still filled with a hundred different worst case scenarios, Castle stopped abruptly in the loft's doorway when two things hit him, the first one being the quietness of the loft. Not that is was so noisy usually, but there was always at least some noise, whether it was Alexis upstairs or Martha rehearsing or singing or doing whatever she was in the mood for that day.

As Castle made his way in, he took in his apartment's complete silence and tried not to see it as a bad sign. Kate had never been the noisiest person to be around and she'd been extra careful while she was living at the loft, but it was simply too quiet.

It was only when Castle reached the living room that he noticed what had troubled him when he had first stepped inside. His nostrils flared and his head snapped towards the kitchen. Something was definitely cooking, and it smelled delicious. His stomach rumbling, Castle was briefly caught between peeking at what was cooking and finding Kate.

His feet were trotting to his bedroom as soon as her name brushed his worried brain, mentally bracing himself to find it deserted and cold. In a childish move he covered his eyes as he pushed the door opened and, holding his breath, peeked between his fingers.

Castle could have wept in relief when his eyes caught sight of dark curls of hair under the lump of blankets on his bed. She was still there. Kate was fast asleep, curled up in the middle of the bed with the covers forming a mountain over her small body.

Cautious as to not jostle the bed too much, Castle sat next to her and let his hand reach for her cheek, brushing a lock her hair back so he could take a better look at her. Feeling foolishly braver when Kate didn't wake up, Castle let his fingers graze her jaw before coming back up. His hand had spread and was about to cup her cheek in an attempt at waking her up gently when a shrill noise suddenly exploded next to him, startling him.

The shock of a hand smashing against her face tore Kate out of slumber violently, her eyes snapping open in confusion as she glared at a sheepish looking writer hovering over her. "Jesus Christ Castle, what the- did you just slap me?"

"No...it was an accident, I swear! I was about to wake you up before your phone scared the crap out of me. What the hell was that sound?" Castle mumbled hurriedly when green, annoyed eyes pinned him on the spot.

"Alarm." Beckett answered deadpanned as she twisted and sat up. "I wanted to make sure I'd wake up in time so I went for the most annoying one."

"That's one term to describe it." Castle was breathing more freely now that it didn't seem he was going to get his head ripped off by a still sleepy detective, but he still kept more distance than usual between them. Just in case. "Hey, Kate?"

"Mmm?"

Castle was at a loss for words, just like every time that soft moan-like sound escaped the woman's mouth. "Um."

Both stared at each other, curious yet expecting the other to make the first move. A slight pressure made Kate look down; somehow the writer's hand had landed on her blanket-covered knee and was squeezing it rather tightly. Her eyes slowly rising until they were on the man's lips, Kate felt her lips part and her breath quicken. "Oh Crap!"

"Crap?"

Kate ignored Castle's shocked face and pushed herself off the bed as fast as she could, swatting his hand away when he tried to hold her back. "Out of the way, Castle!"

The writer watched as the detective dashed out of the room, stunned. She was moving stiffly but she was definitely quicker than the day before. Castle pondered absently if the sudden improvement was due to his massage, but his mind couldn't come up with a logical answer as he trailed behind the woman, a dazed smile on his lips. Kate must have taken a shower earlier because she wasn't wearing the same clothes anymore.

Kate had reached the kitchen and was pulling a tall, wooden spoon from a drawer when she came to a sudden realization. Not only could she feel the warmth coming from the heated floors, but she could also feel the soft, warm waves emanating from the fireplace a few feet away. On her legs or, more accurately, on her thighs. Biting back a frustrated groan, Kate pulled on her thankfully slightly too big shirt in a desperate attempt at covering herself, even if she knew it was pointless.

Turning back to the counter and concentrating on the pots on the stove, hoping the steam coming out of them would cover up her blushing cheeks, Kate bit her lower lip, grateful for having gone with hipster panties instead of the thong she had first picked. "So?"

Her face scrunching up at the smirk that was obvious even through the man's voice, Kate cleared her throat and kept her eyes glued in front of her. "So what?"

She should've been surprised when a head appeared next to hers, deep blue orbs boring into hers. As far as they quasi relationship went, however, not much could surprise her anymore, not when it came down to Richard Castle. "Did you really cook? For us?"

'Huh.' "Yeah, is that a problem?" Kate sighed quietly, proud that she had managed to speak without her voice squeaking or faltering. "I thought it'd be nice, not to have to eat take-out for once."

"You, the queen of the Styrofoam cuisine, is sick of take-out? This day gets more surprising and entertaining by the minute." He tossed between them with an amused smile and a quirk of the eyebrow.

"Come on, Castle, you've never seen an ass before?" The words were out of Kate's mouth before she could take them back, at the writer's highest pleasure.

To his honor, Castle's eyes never wavered from Kate's as he spoke. "Yes, both physical and metaphorical. But one as great, as perfect as yours, no. Never."

An impressive roll of eyes and scarlet cheeks disappeared when Beckett turned her head back to the food. "Not even from the deep-fried twinkie?"

Castle's snort was loud and incredulous. "Don't even talk about her. Alexis already said her name today and I'm pretty sure if we say it again, she will pull a Bloody Mary on us. But for the record, you are no deep-fried twinkie. A twinkie is not good enough to describe you."

"Oh really? Then what am I, Castle?" Kate challenged him with a slight glare, unsure of the turn the conversation was taking.

Castle looked pensive a long moment before a smile slowly spread over his face. "You, my dear detective," he began as he delicately took her injured hand in his, "are a Tiramisu."

"What?"

Castle fought the urge to kiss the woman's cute frown and explained his theory before Kate's confusion turned into annoyance. "Okay, so the tiramisu is sweet but not too much, just like you; it is a delicate, yet tasteful dessert whose main ingredient is espresso," Castle smirked and Kate had to chuckle at that, "but more importantly, it is a dessert that can be done hundreds of different ways, but a true tiramisu is unique and when someone finds the one recipe, he keeps it for life. One and done."

Kate swallowed and forced her hands to remain calm. She was trying so hard to come up with something that wouldn't make it sound like the man had just serenaded her by comparing her to a dessert. It didn't help that it was her favorite dessert either. "Really? A tiramisu, Castle? You know that the name 'tiramisu' means 'pick me up?'

The man's eyes widened slightly but he quickly switched his hold on her by moving his hand up to her shoulder. "Um, yes. But there's an even more popular metaphorical saying that says it means 'makes me happy.'

"So, what are you cooking?" Castle asked kindly, offering a distraction for the now blushing cop. He wasn't upset that she didn't find a comeback to throw at him. He wasn't even bothered by her silence. It, indeed, made him happy because had he said something like that a year before, or even just a few months ago, he would have gotten a glare and an imaginative death threat from the woman.

As she stood in the kitchen in silence however, her eyes too focused on the moving spoon and her movements slow and deliberate, it was enough for Castle to confirm that he hadn't been imagining the last couple of days. Kate was slowly starting to open up to him.

Kate, grateful for the distraction, grinned as she glanced briefly at her partner. "It's a stew. I'm sorry it's nothing fancy but I was kind of limited in what I could do."

"It's perfect." He reassured her with a grin, genuinely pleased and, if he was honest, a little excited that the detective had taken upon herself to make his family dinner. "How did you manage do pull this off anyway? Half of what's in there wasn't in the fridge. Please tell me you didn't go out by yourself."

"I called the market two blocks down, and they delivered." Kate rolled her eyes, discovering that she wasn't annoyed with the writer's comment. "It's almost ready, the only thing left to do is the salad. Apparently, I can chop carrots, but tomatoes are too fancy for my temporary sucky dicing skills."

Castle laughed and brushed a hand over her shoulder as he went around herself to raid the fridge from the needed ingredients. Kate watched him work in silence, nodding and humming in frustration as he told her about the case's latest development. "Hey, Castle?"

"You're going back to your place, aren't you?" The smile on Castle's face dimmed and his shoulders slumped. "I'm actually surprised you lasted this long here without trying to bolt."

Kate frowned and stiffened. "Is that really what you think? That I've been looking for a way to leave since I've been here? I'm not bolting, Castle, I swear. You need your time with Alexis, and I need to get back on my feet by myself for a while."

The mumbling that came out of Castle's mouth wasn't clear, but Kate had a good idea of what it was. "It won't be the same, Cas- Rick. It isn't the same. I'm not leaving forever, I'm just going back to my apartment. Neither of us can deny that something changed in the last week and, and I need to think."

"And you can't do that here."

Kate sighed at the resignation in the man's voice. "No, but not because of what you think. You, you make things too confusing right now and I can't think straight so I need some space." She explained to him, a pointed look aiming at him. "Space, not time."

"I'm confusing you? What the hell does 'space, not time' is supposed to mean?" Castle asked warily, getting angry despite his best efforts.

Glancing up as she searched for the right words, Kate leaned against the counter. As better as she was feeling, she was still tired and standing still for too long caused her back to twinge painfully. "I want to be with you, Rick. Not just as a partner, I-I want more than that but I need to get better first, I want- I need to be more than what I am right now." There. She had said it. It wasn't all she wanted to say, but it would have to suffice for the moment.

Not many people could manage to render Richard Castle speechless, but Kate Beckett certainly owned the world record for that. As he stared at her, his heart thumping loudly in his chest and his mind spinning about what she had just admit, Castle got scared. Genuinely afraid of saying the wrong thing, anything that would make her change her mind and go away for good. "You mean, you have feelings for me? Like, romantic I-want-to-kiss-you feelings?"

Castle's smile got bigger and wider when Kate bit her lip and slightly blushed. As excited as he was though, something that had been dormant at the back of his mind came back to him at that moment, screaming at him until it wouldn't be ignored anymore. His smile faded but didn't vanish completely, instead shifting from ecstatic to gentle, careful. "You remember, don't you?"